168 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



March 12, 1903. 



without being obliged to fly some distance to secure it. 

 Especially is this true in the early spring when cold winds, 

 sudden changes in temperature, etc., work such havoc with 

 our bees. Water they must have, and if they do not have it 

 supplied near home tiiey must seek it elsewhere. 



More bees are lost in the early spring by flying some 

 distance, becoming chilled, and never getting back to their 

 hive, than some bee-keepers are aware of. We don't want 

 anything that will induce them to take long flights, much 

 less anything that will oblige them to. 



Bees are largely creatures of habit, and when once they 

 have established a drinking place it is not so easy to change 

 them from it. And one of their favorite selections is the 

 watering-tank, causing much annoyance to stock, and to 

 the people taking care of the stock as well. It is also a 

 great nuisance to have them around the well or cistern 

 pump. Especially is this the case if there are small chil- 

 dren in the family. 



All this bother may be avoided if we select their drink- 

 ing place for them, and get them started in the right place 

 before they have learned to go anywhere else. This is not 

 difficult to do. A large jar filled with water, with a number 

 of pieces of wood put into it for the bees to alight upon (if 

 they are somewhat rotten all the better), is all that is 

 needed to make a good watering place. If this jar is kept 

 supplied with water after the bees once get started there 

 will be no more trouble about their bothering you anvwhere 

 else. It is a good plan to put a little salt into it otice in a 

 while. Then it will not be a breeding place for mosquitoes, 

 and the bees seem to like it better when it is a little salty. 



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Questions and Answers. 



CONDUCTED BY 



DR. C O. MLLLER, Slai-easo, HI. 



[The Qnestlons may be mailed to the Bee Journal office, or to Dr. Miller 



direct, when he will answer them here. Please do not ask the 



Doctor to send answers br mail.— Editor. 1 



Feeding Honey from a Dead, Mothy Colony. 



I am a beginner in bee-keeping. I Imught 2 colonies last October, 

 but I had to kill one colony on account of having- so many moth in it 

 when I bought them. I have C store-combs half full of honey, from 

 the hive of the colony 1 killed. Would it be wise to keep the combs 

 for a swarm to start with, or would I better give it to the other bees 

 to empty the comb '. Pennsylvania. 



Answer.— The probability is that it will be better to let the col- 

 ony have the honey (or spring use. 



Absconding Colony-Observation Hive-Weak Colony- 

 Keeping Queens. 



1. June 36, 1903, I caught a swarm in the pasturelon a fence-post, 

 and I hived them in an old box, about 12 inches wide, and 2 feet long, 

 and 8 inches high. I carried it home, and when I got there I turned 

 the box upside down and the bees began to work there the same day, 

 and 8 days after the first day the box was full of combs and some 

 brood. Then 1 moved them about 2 feet from its old stand, and put a 

 new dovetailed hive in its place with 8 Hoflfman frames and division- 

 board; then I took the box and dumped all the bees in front of the 

 new hive. They began to work there the same day, but the other day 

 they went to the woods. It was a big swarm of black bees. Why 

 didn't the bees stay in the new hive as they did in the old box ? 



2. I have an observation hive that holds 1 Hoffman frame. I will 

 put a frame with wired comb foundation in that hive, and hive a little 

 ewarm in there, about June 26. Do you think they will rear brood and 

 send out a swarm the same year they are hived ? 



3. Whom is Findland uuder ? and what is the nameof their King ? 

 Who is the King of Norway ''. Who is the King of England ? 



4. I had a weak colony of bees this tall, and put 12 pounds of un- 

 capped honey on top of them, and on top of that a super of maple 

 leaves. I put the colony in the cellar where the temperature is from 

 40 to 4.5 degrees. Do you think the bees will winter all right ? 



5. How long can I keep a queen before introducing her to a col- 

 ony, after I receive her by mail ? Where should I keep her ? 



Minnesota. 

 Ansvn'er. — 1. If I understand you, the bees were put in the hive S 

 days after June 26, and they staid there till " the other day," or about 

 the first of February, as your letter is dated Feb. 9. The only reason 

 I can suggest why a colony should desert its hive in the middle of the 

 winter is that it was a case of starvation, or " a hunger-swarm." But 

 I have some doubts about your having had weather warm enough for 

 that, for their has been no day in this region warm enough for bees to 



fiy since early in the winter, and it is not generally warmer in Minne- 

 sota than here. So it is quite possible that I do not understand cor- 

 rectly, and, if so, please explain more fully and I'll try again. 



2. They will rear brood, and they may send out a swarm, but 

 the chances are against the latter. 



3. These questions are outside the scope of this department. Not 

 kings, but queens, are to be discussed here, and only those queens as 

 are found inside of such palaces as measure less than two feet in each 

 direction. 



4. Maybe, and maybe not. Getting down to 40 degrees is not so 

 well as to have it warmer. Make sure the bees are on the honey ; for 

 a cluster of bees half an inch below the honey, at 40 degrees, would 

 starve. 



.5. I suppose you mean keep her in a cage. She may be kept a 

 month or less or more, the time varying greatly. She should be kept 

 somewhere where there will be summer temperature. 



Cutting Out Queen-Cells and Swarming. 



How would it be to cut out allot the queen-cells but one before 

 they swarm? Would they swarm more than once then 1 



Subscriber. 



Answer. — It might make some difference, and it might make 

 none. A better way is to cut out all cells but one nflt'r they swarm. 

 If only one is left there will be little danger of any more swarming. 



Managing Virgin Queens. 



Please tell me how to manage the virgin queens while taking their 

 wedding-flight. Where a person wants to rear a few for his own use, 

 say five or six will hatch from a choice queen and they take their 

 flight in three to Ave days, one could be mated, but how about the 

 others, and holding and getting them ready to be introduced to dark 

 colonies, where the entrance-guards are on? Iowa. 



Answer. — The only way is to have each virgin queen in a sep- 

 arate colony or nucleus. If you have several in the same hive, there 

 will at once be a fight to a finish, at least until all but one are finished. 



Testing Honey for Adulterants. 



Is there any simple way of finding the presence of glucose or 

 other adulteration in extracted honey? "A B C of Bee-Culture" 

 has a simple test for wax. There is a lot of honey on the market, in 

 this vicinity, sold for pure honey, but some of us are unbelievers, and 

 would like to test it. Massachusetts. 



Answer. — I know of no simple way of being sure whether a 

 sample of honey is pure. One of the German bee-journals has for 

 some time had a standing oiler of I think not less than S200 for a 

 simple test that could be relied upon, but no one has secured the prize. 



Transferring Bees firound-Cork for Winter-Packing— 

 Observation Hive— Bee-Literature. 



I am very much of an amateur at bee-keeping, 16 years old, hav- 

 ing purchased my first colony only last fall, but I intend to go into 

 the business more extensively as soon as possible. « 



1. My colony is in an odd-sized frame hive, and I wish to transfer 

 to a 10-frame hive in the spring. Would it work if I were to get the 

 queen and most of the bees into the new hive on full sheets of founda- 

 tion, put a queen-excluding zinc between, and put the old hive above 

 the new one 1 Would the bees take the honey below, or would the 

 queen fill the cells as fast as made. ? 



2. How does ground-cork rank'as a winter-packing material ? 



3. Do the sides of an observation hive have to be covered with 

 some opaque substance, or will the bees allow the light to penetrate 

 their domicile at all times J 



4. I have my hive facing the east. Would the bees do better in 

 the summer if facing the south ? 



5. I have as reference bee-book " The Honey-Bee," put out by the 

 Department of Agriculture, which seems to cover thoroughly all the 

 essential points. Farmers Bulletin No. 59 on " Bee-Keeping" may be 

 had for the asking, and is worth having. The larger book costs only 

 15 cents. 



6. In Chamber's Encylopiedia I see this statement: "The best and 

 newest honey is a clear Huid contained in a white comb, while older 

 honey is of a yellowish and even reddish tint." Does honey in white 

 comb change color with time ? Minnesota. 



Answers. — 1. Yes, it will work all right, only you must wait till 

 the old hive is pretty well filled, perhaps about the time white clover 

 is first in bloom. It matters little whether you get any bees below, if 

 you get the queen there the bees will take care of themselves. Still, 

 it may be a little better to have a fair force with the queen from the 

 start. It is not likely that any honey will be carried down. It will 

 rather be carried up, and as fast as cells are emptied in the upper hive 

 by the hatching bees they will be filled with honey. t 



2. One of the very best, it not the best. 



3. It is usual to keep the hive darkened when not under observa- 

 tion, but not absolutely necessary. Perhaps the bees will daub more 

 propolis on the glass if the light be continuous. 



